Flu surged after Thanksgiving, as early season continues to worsen - CNN

CNN  — 

Flu surged successful the United States aft Thanksgiving, bringing the astir terrible week yet successful a play that deed the region other early. More than a 3rd of each flu hospitalizations and deaths truthful acold this play were reported successful conscionable the past week, and cases besides jumped astir arsenic much.

New data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that determination person been astatine slightest 13 cardinal illnesses, 120,000 hospitalizations, and 7,300 deaths from flu truthful acold this season.

The latest update captures information done December 3 and is the archetypal afloat week of information post-Thanksgiving. It shows that respiratory microorganism enactment remains elevated crossed the state amid a flu play that deed the state aboriginal and hard – and wellness officials person warned that gathering indoors during the holidays whitethorn pb to rising cases.

All but 7 states are experiencing “high” oregon “very high” respiratory microorganism activity, according to the CDC. States with moderate, low, oregon minimal enactment are Alaska, Hawaii, Michigan, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Vermont and West Virginia.

There person been astir 26 flu hospitalizations for each 100,000 radical – a complaint that hasn’t been this precocious astatine this constituent successful the play successful much than a decade.

Nearly 26,000 radical were admitted to the infirmary for flu past week, filling astir 6,000 much beds than the week before. About 1 successful 4 laboratory tests were affirmative for flu past week and astir 1 successful 10 deaths were owed to pneumonia, influenza oregon Covid-19 – good supra the epidemic threshold of astir 6%.

Data from Walgreens that tracks prescriptions for Tamiflu and different flu treatments suggests that flu hotspots dispersed from El Paso to southwest Virginia.

Last year’s flu play was comparatively mild, but the fig of flu illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths that person been reported truthful acold successful the existent play person already surpassed the full fig recorded passim the entirety of past season.

Hospitals are much afloat present than they’ve been passim the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a CNN investigation of information from the US Department of Health and Human Services.

About 80% of infirmary beds are successful usage nationwide, jumping 8 percent points successful the past 2 weeks.

Hospitals person been required to study capableness accusation since mid-2020 arsenic portion of a national effort to way the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hospitals person been much than 70% afloat for the immense bulk of that time. But they’ve been 80% afloat astatine lone 1 different point: successful January, during the tallness of the Omicron surge successful the US. Back successful January, astir a 4th of infirmary beds were successful usage for Covid-19 patients. But now, lone astir 6% of beds are successful usage for Covid-19 patients, according to the HHS data.

In a connection connected Friday, Nancy Foster, vice president for prime and diligent information with the American Hospital Association, says that an influx of flu patients is simply a cardinal crushed wherefore hospitals are filling up, but they’re besides facing RSV and illnesses successful radical who enactment disconnected attraction during the pandemic.

“Workforce shortages person not lone made it much challenging for hospitals, but besides person diminished the fig of patients who tin beryllium cared for successful nursing homes and different station acute attraction settings,” the connection said. “Thus, patients are spending much clip successful hospitals, awaiting discharge to the adjacent level of attraction and limiting our quality to marque a furniture disposable to a diligent who genuinely needs to beryllium hospitalized.”